Yo, wolf here. Well this chapter kind of explains a lot. It gives some useful background info, so yea, haha. Hope you enjoy!
Suku-chan: Thanks :) I'm glad you like it
Ryu Earth: Haha, I know, but what will we do without Anko? Lol
CrazyShikamaruFan: I'm glad you're still reading :) And yea, mothers can be pretty funny. You should continue writing your stories; I would love to read them!
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"Well that was a rather interesting day of school," Iruka mumbled to himself, walking down the streets of Konaha, heading towards his house. "Who would have thought that Shikamaru dreamt of Ino like that. I'm so glad I'm not a sleep-talker and- oof!" Iruka fell down onto the paved walkway. "I'm so sorry," he apologized hastily, getting up to apologize to the person properly. "I got lost in thought and-"
"Well if it isn't my blushing gem. How are you?" came an all too familiar voice.
Iruka looked up and immediately regretted doing so once he saw who the voice belonged to.
"Oh hey, uh, Tachibana," Iruka said with fake happiness, pushing himself off of the ground and dusting the dirt off of his dress pants.
"Ah, I'm so happy you remember me, although I never got you name…"
"My name? Uh, it's Iruka," the tanned man answered reluctantly.
"What a beautiful name. It suits you. After all, dolphins are quite beautiful and graceful. It must be fate that brought us here together, won't you agree?"
"Fate?" Iruka repeated.
'Geez, how weird can this guy be,' the tanned man thought in slight discomfort.
"Yes, fate. It's as if destiny wanted us to be together after our little encounter."
Not to be rude or anything, but we're kind of in the middle of the street."
"Of course, of course. Why not join me in this café?"
"Oh, well I was actually on my way home from work, and I'm… taken."
"Nonsense, this is only a quaint conversation between two friends. I insist!" Tachibana exclaimed, dragging Iruka into the café and seating him in a nearby table.
"There, that's better," the blonde stated, taking a seat.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Iruka asked, shifting around slightly in his seat.
"Well I… I'm sorry Iruka. This will sound stupid, but you remind me so much of my crush," Tachibana confessed, lowering his head in shame.
"What?"
"You see, I like this man named Denji, a lot. I met him in a neighboring village, but he didn't seem to truly notice me. He recently went to war and- I'm so sorry. I just felt so alone and worried. When I first saw you, something in your eyes reminded me of him. You have that little spark that he has."
"I'm sorry, Tachibana. I know how you feel. My boyfriend recently went off to war, so I know how stressful it is."
"Really?" Tachibana asked, looking up at the other man.
"Yea," Iruka confirmed with a small smile. "Why don't we go back to my place and chat over some tea."
"Yea, that sounds nice. Thanks."
The two made their way back to the teacher's house, the waiter telling the other about the events that led up to him meeting Denji.
"So you met him at a bank?" Iruka questioned, walking over to the kitchen counter to prepare the tea once Tachibana made himself comfortable at the dining table.
"I wouldn't say met… more like I saw him," the blonde corrected. "He was withdrawing some money, when the person at the counter asked why his hair was so short. He started yelling about how some jerk had the nerve to cut it off. He then ranted that he should have shoved the scissors up the man's ass. I found his temper quite adorable."
"Hmm, so you like them feisty, haha. What does he look like?"
"When I saw him, his hair was a dazzling emerald green, reaching to the tips of his ears. His eyes were hazel, and they had this look that said 'I'm a nice guy, but fuck with me and your ass is mine,' haha. His skin is a beautiful, creamy white, and he's a little shorter than me."
"He sounds like a true beauty," Iruka commented, returning to the table with two cups of tea. "Why didn't you introduce yourself?"
"And risk getting my head chewed out by him? No way!"
"So how did you figure out his name?"
"That's another funny story," Tachibana chuckled, taking a sip from his tea. "I was in a bookstore checking out the new releases, when a book titled 'The Scarlet Dragon,' caught my eye. I picked it up and opened the front cover to read the summary, when a picture popped out at me. It was of Denji, only with longer hair. His hair was actually so long, it got cut off by the photo. I recognized the same feisty look in his eyes, so I knew it was him. Underneath the photo was the phrase 'written by Denji Shunsuke.'"
"That almost sounds like a stalker story," Iruka giggled, laughing even harder when the other glared at him.
"It wasn't!" Tachibana defended. "It was just mere coincidence."
"I thought the word was destiny," the tanned man teased.
"Same difference," Tachibana chuckled. "So tell me about you guy."
"Kakashi? He's a blundering oaf," Iruka plainly stated.
"That's a sweet way of showing your love."
"Ok, ok, redo. He's caring, sweet, and a major perv. He's taller than me, and muscular as fuck. He has pale skin, messy, silver hair that always manages to defy gravity, and blue and red eyes. Um, let's see, he wears a mask out of pure paranoia over his 'beautiful face,' which actually is very sexy. He's very protective and can be immature when he wants to be. We actually met at his job, in a dojo, because of a student of mine. It was love at first sight. He actually proposed just before he left."
"Wow, he sounds exotic," Tachibana said, laughing as the other male blushed.
"Exotic?" Iruka repeated, trying to control his blush. "That's a new one."
"Thanks, Iruka," the blonde whispered, smiling graciously at the other man. "It's nice to know I have someone who knows how I feel."
"You're welcome, Tachibana. The feeling's mutual. If you ever want to hang out or something, I'll be here."
"Kakashi Hatake!" roared a loud, baritone voice from across the room.
Kakashi made his way onto the stage, joining the other members who were called. Once everyone was accounted for, a young man clad in a spotless, Navy uniform, adorned with various badges, approached them.
"My name is Hachiku Najime. I am the commanding officer for the special weapons squad. Ah, I see we have an assistant among us, and a worthy one at that. Hatake, please join me up here." All eyes shifted to the silver haired man as he made his way to the officer's side. "Everyone, this is Kakashi Hatake, a well renowned weapons master. He will be aiding me in training, so show him the same respect you would show me, understood?"
"Yes, sir!" the crowd all answered.
"Good. Return to your separate quarters and meet me at the flag pole at five a.m., fully dressed in your uniforms and ready to go. Kakashi, you will meet me half an hour earlier, so that I may present you with your proper badges and medals. We all leave bas at six, and will report to Pacific Harbor to board our next ship. Remember, we are fighting as allies to the Americans, and also as warriors of our own land, so give it your all. Understood? Good. Dismissed!"
The crowd all broke off to their lodgings, dragging their feet wearily, exhaustion evident in their body language.
'Onto another ship,' Kakashi thought bitterly. 'I wonder how Denji and Iruka are doing.'
He made his way into his cabin and plopped himself onto the bed, not bothering to change out of his current attire.
"Might as well get as much sleep as I can," he grumbled, burying his head into the pillow.
Kakashi was soon awakened by the melodic sound of a distant trumpet. Grumbling loudly, he sat up.
'You've got to be shitting me,' he thought, scratching his stomach in a lazy manner. He looked at his clock and flinched when he saw what time it was. 'Four-fifteen. Crap, crap, crap! I'm gonna be late!'
He jumped out of bed, grabbing some clean undergarments and uniform, as he dashed towards the restroom facilities, knocking down anyone in his way- completely ignoring the angry rumbling of his stomach. Once he was fully dressed, he ran towards the flag pole, silently praying that he was on time.
"Ah, Kakashi, good to see you," Hachiku greeted, shaking the pale man's hand.
"Yes, l-likewise, Mr. Najime," Kakashi stuttered nervously, slightly confused as to why the other officer was in such a cheerful mood.
"Please Kakashi, call me Hachiku."
"Yes sir- I mean Hachiku."
"Great. You know, we'll definitely win this war with you here."
'Oh, that's why,' Kakashi thought. 'I'm some kind of war deity.'
"Oh, before I forget, let me present you with a golden name badge, and a few pins and medals for your previous service."
'Gosh, I can't believe I'm a veteran. That makes me feel ancient. Why couldn't they think of a cooler sounding name, like Naval Master,' Kakashi pondered, as Hachiku finished placing the various medals and badges onto his uniform. 'Wait. I'm technically considered that.'
"There, all done," Hachiku said, admiring his handiwork. "Now for the serious part. I wanted to give you a brief overview of what you will be doing here. You will aide me in the newcomers' training abroad the S.S. Aqua. Once everyone is sufficiently trained, they will join the war, along with us, but I repeat, not until everyone is trained. Our unit will be at sea for roughly two years, occasionally stopping at various ports along the way to exchange info and gather supplies. It is at the end of that term that you may leave, or stay, depending on how you feel."
"Understood," Kakashi confirmed.
"Excellent. Here come the trainees now." Kakashi turned his attention to the incoming crowd, noticing how out of breath they were from that short run. "Get to attention," Hachiku commanded, once they all arrived.
'Great, this will be fun," Kakashi thought sarcastically, as he watched the men and women struggle to remember the correct position for attention. 'They don't even know the basics.'
"Feet together, stomach in, chest out, shoulders back, hands fisted to the side with elbows slightly bent, and eyes up," Kakashi reminded in a monotone voice.
"I hope you remember that next time," Hachiku warned. "All right, Pacific Harbor is only a couple of miles away, so you all can march there. Kakashi, please start them off for me."
"Yes sir," Kakashi responded, clapping his hands rhythmically. "All right, let's go!"
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Woah! There's a little love parallelogram going on here haha. Anyways, please review! :D